Friday, February 19, 2010

A Little Math

Let's start this off by saying that "Dad" Anthony is terrible in math. Period. I don't do it. Thankfully, DeMolay International has done some for me...

As we are now well into the year of 2010, the United States Census Bureau has begun collecting information about all of the citizens in the United States. Back in the 1990's (ancient history to some folks) DeMolay International used the information gathered in the 1990 census to see just how much of an impact DeMolay was having on society. That information was distilled into a short article called "100 DeMolays" and it is still available on the DeMolay International website, but for ease of reference, I present it here:

"Of any 100 young men who join DeMolay, five of those 100 will become Master Councilor of their DeMolay chapters. And at least one of them will later say that he valued that experience above his college degree. Eighty or more of the 100 will go on to complete some form of post-high school education.

Many of the 100 will find their vocation through other DeMolay involvement, such as Merit Bar work. DeMolay has produced a good number of men, who after serving as chaplain of their local chapters, went on to become ministers or pastors. Along those same lines, several of the 100 DeMolays will first be introduced to some form of organized religion by attending some church or temple through a chapter function.

Of any 100 young men who become a DeMolay, thirty will drop out in their first year. Perhaps this may be regarded as a failure. But in later life, most of these will remember that they have been in DeMolay and speak well of the program and the lessons it teaches.

Of any 100 DeMolays, only rarely will one ever appear before a juvenile court judge or be in any trouble with the law. In fact, DeMolay produces a great many lawyers. And, although the percentages are not known, many of the 100 will join the military. Each of the 100 will learn something from DeMolay and most all will benefit from their association with the fraternity. Again, the percentages are not known, but a considerable number of the 100 will also go into the Masonic Lodge in later life. Of the 100 who join Masonry, many will serve as a head of one of the Masonic organizations.

A number of the 100 come from single parent families and look to their advisors (Masons) as positive role models. One out of the 100 will be awarded the rank and honor of Chevalier, the highest honor granted to an active DeMolay. Approximately sixteen of the 100 will value their time in DeMolay so much that they will "give back" to DeMolay by serving as an adult volunteer in later life.

Although only one out of every 1,000 young men in the United States, age 13 to 21, will join DeMolay, it is interesting to note that many of this nation's leaders in business, religion, and politics belonged to DeMolay in their teens. In fact, one out of every twelve State Governors is a Senior DeMolay and one out of every ten United States Senators is a Senior DeMolay.